Using hundreds of millions of dollars worth of U.S. funded and manufactured weaponry, Israeli occupation forces are inflicting a rapidly growing number of civilian casualties in state commissioned massacres widely known as “thrill killings.”

A fresh Israeli offensive began on August 20 following a brief "humanitarian pause" initiated by Israel on August 11 for the purpose of regrouping its forces. Eyewitnesses report that Israeli shelling continued throughout the "humanitarian pause" including against fishermen and a number of homes.

During the pause, and despite the continued Israeli violence, Palestinian resistance leaders attempted to convince Israeli diplomats to discuss the terms of a long-term ceasefire in a meeting in Cairo. Despite Israel’s promise to participate in the talks, no hearing of Palestinian demands took place. According to reports, Israeli officials cited Palestinian rocket fire as a reason for storming out of the talks before dialogue could begin.

As would be expected, Palestinian leaders deny enlisting men to fire rockets prior to the close of the talks.

For its part, the U.S. boycott of the talks appears to stem from Obama’s permanent policy of "principled opposition" to Palestinian resistance of any kind.

The Palestinian gesture of good will is even more remarkable than it appears at first glance, given that Palestinian leaders are under no moral or legal obligation to negotiate with Israel at all as long as it remains in defiance of previous agreements and resorts to collective punishment in defiance of all international laws and standards.

Furthermore, after a mere four weeks, Israel was already at that time responsible for the massacre of 2,016 Palestinians in the Gaza strip alone.

Despite U.S. imperialism’s long-standing pretense that it is “above the conflict,” the Obama administration refuses to halt arms shipments to Israel or pause other types of direct military aid in the midst of Israel’s brutal escalation.

The U.S. currently supplies Israel with direct military aid to the tune of $8.5 million per day. Millions per day more in direct supply of arms and other aid is supplied to Israel by various governmental agencies including the Pentagon, the Department of the Treasury, the Missile Defense Agency, etc. etc.

In fact, for decades the state of Israel has been a client state and regional policeman for U.S. imperialism as it plunders the oil-wealth of the Middle East.

Today, the attempt to liquidate the Palestinian nation is part of U.S. imperialism’s so-called “war against terrorism.” As the U.S. props up a reactionary fascist regime in Iraq as a first step in recolonizing the entire Middle East, it simultaneously seeks to crush the Palestinians so as to stabilize its base of operations in Israel and extinguish any resistance to its domination.

Palestinians have been deprived of their right to their own state in their national homeland as a result of Israel’s annexationist program. With the creation of the state of Israel in 1947, the Palestinians became a subject people within their own country and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were expelled from their land, their homes and villages razed to the ground.

The state of Israel was not only carved out of Palestinian territory, but over the last 66 years has repeatedly expanded by waging aggressive wars against the Palestinian people.

In 1967, Israel launched a full-scale war and occupied the rest of Palestine (the West Bank and Gaza), again expropriating Palestinian land and forcing tens of thousands into exile.

Today, the state of Israel has not only usurped the entire historic homeland and nation of Palestine but it has also officially annexed Jerusalem and Syria’s Golan Heights. Israel has imposed military rule in the West Bank and Gaza, killing the people, expropriating more land, and establishing more settlements.

In 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza strip but shortly thereafter sealed off the borders and began imposing collective punishment on the population. Since that time Israel has also launched three major military campaigns against the people.

In the West Bank, Israeli occupation forces have “bestowed” administrative duties on the civil administration there but have usurped its authority at every turn. For example, Israeli occupation forces recently used crowd control measures against non-Israeli citizens on Palestinian land at Hebron under the pretext that they were “throwing stones at Israeli settlers.” In another recent example, Israeli occupation forces trampled on Palestinian procedures calling for trial before punishment when before even proffering charges, IOF demolished the family homes of Palestinians accused in connection with the deaths of three Israeli settlers.

Peace will only come to the Palestinian people when Israel is forced back into its lair and when the Palestinian people regain their inalienable right to their own genuinely independent state.

The American people can contribute to such a just solution by: 1) demanding the immediate and unconditional end to all U.S. aid to Israel and 2) supporting the Palestinian liberation struggle against zionism and U.S. imperialism.

The Palestinian struggle is a call to the conscience of all – for the American people it is a demand that we redouble our struggle against U.S. imperialism, the real aggressor and occupier of Palestine.

The Palestinian Nation Will Survive and Win!

U.S. Imperialism and its “War on Terrorism” Will Be Defeated!

Support the Palestinian Liberation Struggle Against Zionism and Imperialism!